Flamethrower
The Flamethrower is a gaseous propellant based weapon that was created from scrap by the Metro dwellers at some point after the Great War of 2013. On numerous occasions it proved to be much more effective in protecting survivors than any other conventional weapon. Overview Flamethrowers are highly revered weapons known for a multitude of capabilities including raw offensive and defensive power, and a reputation as tools of psychological warfare. The narrow nature of the Metro tunnels makes it frighteningly effective against human and mutant opponents alike. Its ruggedness renders it incapable of sustaining a continuous stream of fire for a long time and although its "ammunition" is virtually unlimited, overheating problems often arise. The very first flamethrower is seen by the player on the way to Riga station. It is used by Riga militia to burn a horde of mutants chasing the caravan. On the way to D6 during the Dark Star level Artyom can use a flamethrower mounted on the Ranger's railcar against waves of nosalises forced into the tunnel by an approaching Anomaly. The mounted varient of flamethrower only appears in Metro 2033. Metro: Last Light A portable version of the flamethrower appears at the end of the Echoes level. After Pavel drags Artyom into the airlock, two soldiers armed with flamethrowers rush in front of them and kill the remaining watchers. Although it was hinted that it was going to be usable in game, the player never uses the flamethrower in the main campaign. However, a hand-held flamethrower is found in the Developer Pack - this version must be hand cranked to fire. it is also used in the spider-lair mission. Variants and Obtaining Related Achievements/Trophies Trivia * The facts about real life flamethrowers have been completely warped by Hollywood films, and there are many false myths surrounding them: ** Flamethrowers do not actually throw flame - rather, they carry a liquid propellant (usually a fuel such as gasoline) that is stored in the tanks on the back. When it is fired, it is propelled down the pipe to the nozzle, where it is ignited (either manually by holding fire near the nozzle, or through a spark system), becoming burning fuel that coats anything and everything. ** Since the propellant is not actually fire, but burning fuel, it cannot be extinguished by jumping into water. In fact, it will continue to burn underwater meaning that if covered in it, you will die painfully regardless of attempts to extinguish the fire. ** Shooting the fuel tanks of a flamethrower will not cause it to explode - rather the liquid fuel will trickle out slowly, meaning the flamethrower will just run out of fuel quickly. There are a few exceptions to this - using incendiary rounds will ignite the fuel as will setting fire to it manually, and there is a possibility that a spark could be caused by the rubbing of metal on the flamethrower, that could ignite the fuel too. ** Finally, real life flamethrowers are not 'unlimited' and actually can only be used in very short bursts before having to be refilled or replaced. For example, the WWII M2 Flamethrower could only had fuel for 7 seconds of non-stop firing, meaning it was generally used against fortifications in very short bursts. * The most terrifying part of flamethrowers in the Metro is, aside from the burning liquid propellant and searing temperatures, the fact that the heat will empty all the oxygen out of the area - in heavily confined tunnels, those who do not burn to death will suffocate. ** This is likely why they are considered such cruel weapons to be used against humans, and are generally only reserved for mutants. ** Also, usage of this weapon inside metro tunnels is not common, probably due to the fear that the attacker will be killed if the oxygen in the surrounding areas is used up. * Although most real-life flamethrowers use liquid fuel, the flamethrower in Metro 2033 and Last Light seem to be using gas, possibly propane. This means that the Metro flamethrower actually does throw fire, hence its very low range. * Like its counterparts in other games, the flamethrower has limited range but deals massive damage, particularly to mutants. * Flamethrowers and other mounted weapons may be hard to aim if your performance is not smooth enough, as the reticule tends to "float" past the intended target, and lag makes it hard to control this. * In the novel, the flamethrower was used during the Hansa- Red Line War by both sides, and is widely regarded as a war crime. The flamethrower is also used when a child Artyom, Sukhoi and several others are escaping from the rat swarm that destroyed their home station of Timiryazevskaya, and to 'decontaminate' refugees from plagued stations. * The Red soldiers in one occasion in Metro: Last Light have talked about the use of the flamethrowers in the coming war, though its use is still taboo for them. ** Ironically, a Red heavy trooper wields a flamethrower during the Battle of D6, its possible that most rules and taboos are ignored in the time of war, like the most countries did in WWII. * The hand-held flamethrower is said to be able to use almost any type of fuel as its ammo. Category:Weapons Category:Metro 2033 Novel Category:Metro Last Light Category:Developer Pack DLC